It has become common practice in the detergent industry to include in detergent compositions materials which are intended to control the amount of foam produced during a washing cycle in a washing machine.
Indeed, excessive sudsing has been found to interfere negatively with the action of the wash liquor upon the fabrics.
Silicone antifoam agents in finely dispensed form have been found to be particularly effective species, and efforts have been directed to increase the stability of such agents upon prolonged storage in a liquid detergent composition containing them.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,798,671, it has been proposed to make a premix of dispensing agents and suds controlling agents to obtain storage benefits. However, it is extremely difficult to create and maintain the finely dispersed form in liquid detergent compositions and especially in the presence of high ionic strengths.
Surprisingly, it has now been found that improved storage stability of silicone antifoam compounds can be achieved by adding low levels of a particulate stabilizing aid.
According to the present invention, an antifoam agent is provided which has improved stability upon storage when incorporated in liquid detergents.
According to one embodiment, a stable liquid detergent composition comprising said antifoam agent is provided.
According to another embodiment, a process is provided to obtain a stable liquid detergent composition comprising said antifoam agent.